UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ABANDONS BIBLICAL TEACHING
United Methodist delegates removed a 52-year-old declaration from their official social teachings that deemed "the practice of homosexuality" incompatible with their faith. The 523-161 vote to approve a section of the church's Revised Social Principles took place at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church during their 11-day legislative gathering in Charlotte.
The change came a day after the General Conference removed its longstanding ban on "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from being ordained or appointed as ministers. Step by step, delegates removed anti-LGBTQ language throughout their official documents.
In the same vote, delegates affirmed "marriage as a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age) into a union of one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community."
It's the UMC's first legislative gathering since 2019, one that features its most progressive slate of delegates in memory due to the departure of many conservatives from the denomination. More than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations in the United States—one quarter of the denomination's American total—disaffiliated because the UMC essentially stopped enforcing its bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination.
Those churches left under a window that enabled American churches to leave with their properties, normally held by the denomination, under more favorable than normal terms. While the conference voted against extending that window to international churches, the liberalization measures approved by the conference could still prompt departures of some international churches through different means, particularly in Africa, where conservative sexual values prevail and where same-sex activity is criminalized in some countries.
The statement of homosexuality being "incompatible with Christian teaching" dates back to the beginning of the 52-year-old debate on LGBTQ issues within one of the nation's largest Protestant denominations. The phrasing was adopted on the floor of the 1972 General Conference via an amendment proposed by a delegate.
The historic decision followed days of delegates voting on the consent calendar—without debate—to reverse multiple denominational constraints on ministry with and by LGBTQ members.
Not everyone at General Conference agreed with the vote. After the marriage language decision, about 65 Africans and a smattering of others sang hymns and prayed together, while also making clear their view that the Bible does not sanction same-sex marriage and The United Methodist Church shouldn't either. "We do not believe we know better than the Bible," one delegate said.
Nimia Peralta from the Northwest Philippines stated, "God designed marriage to be between a man and a woman. While the conference earlier approved a regionalization plan enabling different parts of the global church to adapt rules to their local contexts, God's word can never be regionalized."
The General Conference also repealed a longstanding ban on any United Methodist entity using funds "to promote the acceptance of homosexuality." The previous ban also forbade the funding of any effort to "reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends."
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
The United Methodist Church just committed denominational suicide.
After 7,600 faithful churches walked out the door rather than compromise Scripture, the remaining delegates celebrated by doing exactly what those churches feared. They gutted biblical teaching on sexuality. They redefined marriage. They declared God's Word negotiable.
This isn't progress. This is capitulation.
The pattern is always the same. First, they stop enforcing the rules. Then the conservatives leave. Then the progressives vote to officially change what they were already doing anyway. It's institutional capture, not spiritual renewal.
Notice the vote count: 523 to 161. That's not consensus. That's what happens when you purge a quarter of your churches first, then claim victory.
The African delegates got it right. They sang hymns, prayed, and declared "we do not believe we know better than the Bible." Meanwhile, American Methodists are so drunk on cultural approval they can't even hear how that sounds.
God's Word can never be regionalized. Truth doesn't change based on your ZIP code or cultural preferences. But the UMC just decided it does.
Here's what really happened: The Methodist church chose the world over the Word. They chose inclusion over holiness. They chose to be culturally relevant over eternally faithful.
And they'll pay for it the same way every mainline denomination pays. Empty pews. Dying churches. Theological irrelevance.
The Episcopal Church tried this in 2003. They're collapsing. The ELCA tried it. They're hemorrhaging members. Now the Methodists are next in line.
You cannot build the church by abandoning the foundation. You cannot win souls by surrendering truth. The world doesn't need another social club that baptizes whatever culture celebrates. It needs the Gospel.
The 7,600 churches that left were right to go. And the African delegates who refused to bow are right to resist.
This isn't the church victorious. This is the church defeated.
TAKE ACTION
Support Faithful Methodist Congregations: If you're a Methodist, find out if your church disaffiliated to join the Global Methodist Church, which maintains biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality. Visit www.globalmethodist.org for more information.
Pray for African Methodist Churches: African Methodist delegates courageously stood for biblical truth despite enormous pressure. Pray for their continued faithfulness and for protection from denominational retaliation.
Support Your Pastor: If you attend a church in a mainline denomination facing similar pressure, encourage your pastor to stand firm on biblical teaching. Let church leadership know you support doctrinal faithfulness over cultural accommodation.
Examine Your Own Church: Contact your denomination's headquarters to find out their official stance on marriage and sexuality. If your church is heading down this path, consider finding a biblically faithful congregation before the compromise reaches your local church.
DEUS VULT
